No. 6 Kentucky at Georgia: Preview, odds and how to watch

On By Littum

For just the second time this season, Kentucky will leave Lexington for a true road game — the first in SEC play. The Wildcats fell in their first road test at Clemson while also losing to Ohio State in New York City while picking up top-10 neutral-site wins over Duke and Gonzaga in the non-conference. Next? The Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, who take on a 12-2 team ranked No. 36 in NET for another Quad 1 option.

What do you need to know about the program’s second conference matchup of the season for Mark Pope? KSR has you covered.

No. 6 Kentucky at Georgia: This is how you see, listen

  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • Television: SEC Network (John Schriffen, Richard Hendrix)
  • Home radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
  • Online radio: iHeart
  • Satellite radio: Sirius 106 or 190
  • Live statistics: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which starts one hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBord.

Early season rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 19

  • 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
  • 11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
  • 11/12: 77-72 W against no. 6 Duke
  • 11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
  • 11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
  • 26/11: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
  • 11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
  • 12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson
  • 12/7: 90-89 W OT vs. Gonzaga
  • 12/11: 78-67 W vs. Colgate
  • 14/12: 93-85 W vs. Louisville
  • 12/21: 85-65 L vs. Ohio State
  • 31/12: 88-54 W vs. Brown
  • 1/4: 106-100 W vs. Florida

Georgia: KenPom 50

  • 11/4: 83-78 W vs. Tennessee Tech
  • 11/10: 92-64 W vs. Texas Southern
  • 11/12: 90-77 W vs. North Florida
  • 11/15: 77-69 W at Georgia Tech
  • 11/19: 93-45 W vs. Alabama A&M
  • 11/23: 80-69 L vs. Marquette
  • 24/11: 66-63 W against St. John’s
  • 11/30: 102-56 W vs. Jacksonville
  • 12/3: 69-48 W vs. Notre Dame
  • 14/12: 73-68 W vs. Grand Canyon
  • 19/12: 100-49 W vs. Buffalo
  • 22/12: 81-65 W vs. Charleston Southern
  • 29/12: 79-72 W vs. South Carolina State
  • 1/4: 63-51 L at Ole Frk

History of the series

Kentucky leads the all-time series 132-28 including an impressive 44-19 record on the road at Georgia. The two teams split the series in 2023-24, with both programs winning at home, the Wildcats losing 75-68 in Athens in the first matchup, followed by a 105-96 victory in Lexington in the second. It was the Zvonimir Ivisic game you might remember, the 7-2 freshman coming through just hours before tip-off and going for 13 points on three made 3-pointers with five rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists. Tre Mitchell (23) and Antonio Reeves (21) also combined for 44 in that one.

Mike Whitein his third season at Georgia, is 5-12 against the Wildcats between stints with the Bulldogs and Florida Gators – 1-2 at UGA, 4-10 at UF. Mark Popewho started his coaching career in Athens (2009-10), has not coached a game against the Bulldogs.

Kentucky at Georgia Odds

Spread: Kentucky -2.5
Total: 156.5

KenPom and Bart Torvik both project a 78-77 win for UK in Athens while ESPN’s BPI likes the Cats by 0.8 points, while giving the road team a 53.0 percent chance to win.

Kentucky Projected Starters

#1 – Lamont Butler
6-2 – 208 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
13.8 PPG, 4.4 APG, 3.0 RPG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
15.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.6 SPG

#2 – Jackson Robinson
6-6 – 192 – GUARD – GRADUATING STUDENT
12.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.8 APG

#7 – Andrew Carr
6-11 – 235 – FORWARD – GRADUATING STUDENT
11.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.8 APG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – EDUCATIONAL STUDENT
10.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.6 BPG

Georgia Projected Starters

Silas Demary Jr.

#5 – Silas Demary Jr.
6-5 – 206 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
11.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.0 APG

Tyrin Lawrence

#7 – Tyrin Lawrence
6-4 – 200 – GUARD – GRADUATED SENIOR
10.5 PPG, 3.2 APG, 3.7 RPG

Blue Cain

#0 – Blue Cain
6-5 – 195 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
8.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG

RJ Godfrey

#10 – RJ Godfrey
6-8 – 230 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
6.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG

Newell, Asa

#14 – Asa Newell
6-11 – 220 – CENTER – FRESHMAN
15.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.1 BPG

SEC availability report

The new SEC policy states that players must be listed as “out” (0% chance to play), “questionable” (25% chance to play), “doubtful” (50% chance to play) or ” probable” (75% chance of playing) in pre-game day reports. Where do things stand ahead of the team’s trip to Athens?

KENTUCKY

  • Koby Brea – Doubtful
  • Kerr Kriisa – OUT

GEORGIA

  • De’Shayne Montgomery – POSSIBLY

Statistical comparison

(via Kentucky game notes)

Fun stats from UK Game Notes:

  • Kentucky is the only team in the country with wins over top 10 teams
  • The 106 scored points vs. Florida was the most ever against a top-10 opponent in program history
  • The Wildcats dished out 25 assists with just six turnovers against the Gators and led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.09
  • Otega Oweh is the only player to score in double figures in every game for Kentucky, while six players average double figures – which would be an all-time record for the program
  • UK’s offense is ranked as the fifth most efficient in the country, according to KenPom. The Cats are averaging 1,228 points per game. possession for the season with two consecutive games of 1.40 or better.

Pre-game storylines

MARK PAVE AND MARK FOX RETURN TO ATHENS

It’s a homecoming for two Kentucky coaches who share a unique connection both with each other and the Georgia Bulldogs. Mark Pope and Mark Fox were together in Washington — the former as a player and the latter as an assistant — before Fox gave Pope his first-ever coaching job at UGA, bringing the former Wildcat on as director of basketball operations in 2009-10 during his first season as head coach in Athens. Fox was with the Bulldogs for nine seasons, finishing with a 163-133 record with two NCAA Tournament appearances and three NITs. He led the program to four 20-win seasons, tied for most by a head coach in school history, while also becoming the only Georgia coach to win 20 games three years in a row.

WIN NO. 200 ON THE LINE TO POPE

Could Pope earn his 200th career win back where it all started? That’s on the table, with the first-year Lexington coach entering the game with a 199-110 record in his 10th season across three different schools. He is 12-2 at Kentucky after finishes of 110-52 and 77-56 at BYU and Utah Valley, respectively. Starting as DOBO in Athens back in ’09-10, he could leave town with a massive career milestone with a win on Tuesday.

SOMTO CYRIL UNITES WITH KENTUCKY

Once, Somto Cyril was one of six signees in John Calipari’s 2024 recruiting class at Kentucky, joining Jayden Quaintance, Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond. Quaintance chose his own path, going to Arizona State, while Cyril stayed local — he finished his high school career in Atlanta at Overtime Elite — to play for Mike White at Georgia. The other four followed Coach Cal to Fayetteville. Cyril is currently averaging 5.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 15.4 minutes per game. competition while shooting 73.2 percent from the field.

UGA IS LEAD BY A BLE DANDY

It’s not every day you get a consensus top-20 five-star on campus for basketball in Athens, but that’s the case with standout freshman Asa Newell. After finishing as no. 12 overall view and no. 2 power forward in 2024, the 6-11 big man signed with the Bulldogs over Alabama, Gonzaga, Texas, Indiana, Auburn, Kansas, Michigan and Baylor, among a number of other highs. -greater options. He’s the third-highest ranked commitment in program history behind only Anthony Edwards and Lou Williams — and he’s looked the part early, averaging 15.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. competition. Among SEC stat leaders, Newell is ranked No. 17 in scoring and no. 12 in rebounding.

CATS TAKE ON A TOP-30 DEFENSE

Georgia enters the showdown ranked No. 28 in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom, while tying the team to No. 17 nationally in effective field-goal percentage. The Bulldogs are also allowing just 28.5 percent shooting from deep (No. 19) and 45.3 percent from two (No. 34) with a block rate of 16.4 percent (No. 11). They play at one of the slowest paces in high-major basketball at No. 238 overall, but they’re one of the best defensive teams in the country — and not terrible offensively, with an effective field-goal percentage of 55.5% (No. 39).

“DUNKYARD DAWGS” AND OTHER RANDOM GEORGIA FACTS

Did you know the Bulldogs call themselves the “Dunkyard Dawgs” because they rank second nationally in percentage of field goals made that are dunks at 18.6 percent? Now you do. Georgia is also 9-0 at home this year with 11 straight wins at Stegeman Coliseum, good for the sixth-longest streak in program history. This is also the second of seven straight games against top-25 opponents to open SEC play for the Bulldogs.

Join the discussion on KSBord

Want to interact with the KSR team during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll share live updates while your eyes and ears are inside Stegeman Coliseum, while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

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Quick response on KSR YouTube channel

Do you miss the game? KSR has you covered with a quick reaction live on KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall post-game coverage on the website, including highlights, commentary from Mark Pope and the players, stats and takeaways.

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